July2021

10 Buckden Roundabout July 2021 Church News Weekly Prayer Roster Each week during the year the Churches, in their prayers, remember the residents of particular streets in the village, those who work in the parish and village organisations. Those to be remembered this month are: 4th July Park Road, Falcon Way, The Marinas, and those who live and work there 11th July Field Close, Lincoln Close, Silver Street, Beaufort Drive, St Hugh ’ s Road 18th July School Lane, Buckden Primary School (pupils, teachers and teaching assistants, governors, vol- unteers, midday supervisors, all support staff) 25th July Scouts, Cubs and Beavers, Guides, Brownies and Rainbows, Playgroup and Day Nursery, Buck- den out of Schools Scheme, Buckden Towers Youth Retreat Centre Thought for the Month It ’ s Bible month this month and many churches up and down the country are taking a deep dive into the Gospel of Mark; over a period of four weeks, reading, for once, the whole book! As regular churchgoers will know, we hear short passages from different parts of the Bible read out each week, and sometimes the order can seem quite random. So, I, for one, appreciate the chance to follow a story from the beginning, right through to the end and, even better, to watch as well as listen! Which is why I am particularly grateful for the recom- mendation coming from one of our congregation at Buckden Methodist Church, about a new series called ‘ The Chosen ’ - particularly after all the months of lock- down as I am now completely devoid of unwatched box sets! A little suspicious at first (having seen a fair few rather naff films about the life and times of yours truly (The Pas- sion excepted) I was quickly gripped and had to employ a fair bit of self - discipline to not watch all episodes in se- ries 1 and 2 back to back, pausing only for the loo and more popcorn. For those of you who wonder what the fuss is all about with this Jesus character, ‘ The Chosen ’ is an entertaining, beautifully shot and extremely engaging series – you can do a lot worse than lose 20 minutes of your life checking it out. The film ‘ Gandhi ’ comes to mind a bit, but ‘ The Chosen ” doesn ’ t claim historical accuracy. Whilst it tells of the happenings around a person we know existed, the way it brings the characters and situa- tions to life creates a totally up to date feel although the series is actually set in its own time and place. Probably based mostly on the Gospel of Mark or John, the hanging question throughout is what do you think? Who do you think this Jesus really is? For those of us who ‘ get the fuss ’ it opens not just the windows, but the French doors, on what Jesus ’ life on our planet really would have been like in his own time as well as the cultural and political issues that arose by his very presence. It ’ s a penetrating insight into the possible back stories of key characters and a gripping way of really appreciating the context of the times and helping us all to appreciate just how radi- cal Christ was - then and now. You can catch episodes on You Tube or even better download the app (just google ‘ The Chosen ’), or do what I did and ask a teenager. It ’ s completely free but I was fascinated to learn that a series of this depth and quality is actually 100% crowd funded. So whether our summer does or doesn't turn out to de- liver the good weather we all enjoyed last year, or in case restrictions continue, let me pass on this excellent rec- ommendation. Enjoy! For me I will have to wait for se- ries 3, hopefully out soon! Rev Sue Baker - Maher ACKNOWLEDGEMENT Rosey Studd and family would like to say thank you for the cards, kind words and offers of help following the death of Stan. He put up a remarkable fight and refused to allow his illness to get in the way of serving the community of Buckden. Thank you also to the Parish Council for awarding him the Freeman of Buckden. He was so surprised and truly humbled by the honour.